Thanks, I did not know she churned out another one. I thought the movie version of Le Divorce was amazing for that restaurant scene. What gorgeous food! And the British auctioneer insulting the French was priceless. I don't remember if that was in the book. The movie was better.

I just finished The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars -- very good! -- and have started Spice: The History of a Temptation. I also just finished French Women Don't Get Fat.

Originally Posted by CCL

Just finished reading Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Apparently I was mistakenly allowed to enter my 20s without having read it. It was quite entertaining.

You'll never see a towel the same way again
Aren't you glad they finally made it into a movie?

Originally Posted by pinkieparrot

I'm halfway through Frankenstein. I had been reading a lot of chick lit lately, so I thought I would pick up a classic and read something with a bit more substance. It's pretty good so far- I like the story, not sure if I like the way she writes.

Lol, that is chick lit. It was written by a teenage girl
For an interesting take on the novel, read The Madwoman in the Attic : The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination.

Originally posted by phat32
*'s ears perk up at the sound of Roman-occupied Britain*

If you're interested in Roman occupied Britain, you may be interested in a series of novels by Simon Scarrow. These are military novels that take place during the mid first century ad and the natives are not yet pacified. The main characters are veteran centurion and a young optio, who has no military experience (but does have a bit of an imperial connection). The first novel in the series is called Under the Eagle.

I'm about two-thirds of the way through Vince Flynn's Separation of Power. It's one of those post-Cold War spy novels (CIA vs. terrorism) that is so full of machismo, I think there must be Testosterone in the ink. Any minute I may start sprouting chest hair It's a nice change from the stuff I've been reading lately. I like to switch things up a bit so I don't get in a rut.

Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.' - Isaac Asimov

I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "... I drank what?"

Under the Dragon's Tail by Maureen Jennings
It's a Detective Murdoch mystery. Murdoch is a police detective in Victorian era Toronto. The book series makes good use of the geography and social climate of the times.

Also about halfway through Byzantium, the Apogee by the John Julius Norwich. This second volume of the series covers the years 800 to 1081 AD.

Under the Dragon's Tail by Maureen Jennings
It's a Detective Murdoch mystery. Murdoch is a police detective in Victorian era Toronto. The book series makes good use of the geography and social climate of the times.

Ooh, that sounds interesting. I always love things set in the Victorian era. Do you recommend it?

I'm almost done with "The Eight," a slightly Da Vinci Code-ish mystery about an ancient chess set, set during the French Revolution and in the 1970's. By Katherine Neville. Someone else here recommended it, so when I saw it I picked it up. Same sort of Freemason-conspiracy sort of vibe, but much better written, with more fully-drawn characters, than the Da Vinci Code (which I did like) and written about 20 years earlier, I think. I'm quite into it.

I finished "Deep in the Darkness". It was a good, scary book with an interesting premise. If you're into strange, scary thrillers, go for it.

I'm now halfway through the new Prey book by John Sandford. I've read them all, and this one's just as good as the rest. If you haven't read the Prey series, pick up the first one, you'll be hooked. Lucas Davenport can't be beat for a rich, been-everywhere, do-anything detective from the Twin Cities. I always imagine him as the caucasion Will Smith from "Bad Boys", with a Minnesota drawl.

That book has a lot of old words and complicated plots, tho... but I think I can handle it. I skipped the old testaments, and so, I'm just reading the second testaments (less pages). It might takes a while for me to complete this holy book.

But anyway, I got a question for this book. Is bible a fictional or non-fictional? Just wondering...

Ooh, that sounds interesting. I always love things set in the Victorian era. Do you recommend it?

I'm almost done with "The Eight," a slightly Da Vinci Code-ish mystery about an ancient chess set, set during the French Revolution and in the 1970's. By Katherine Neville. Someone else here recommended it, so when I saw it I picked it up. Same sort of Freemason-conspiracy sort of vibe, but much better written, with more fully-drawn characters, than the Da Vinci Code (which I did like) and written about 20 years earlier, I think. I'm quite into it.

I read The Eight a month or so ago Lucy! (I think I recommended it upthread) I agree that it is superior to The Da Vinci Code, mainly because Neville is a better writer than Dan Brown. After reading it I felt like I needed to bone up on my chess skills too! It's such a strange thing how some books that aren't all that well written (i.e. The Da Vinci Code) just become crazy-popular, while others that are more well written (and with better plotlines, more fleshed-out characters, etc.) just remain unknown. QPB picked up on The Eight a few months ago (and that's where I read about it), so I'm hoping it'll find a wider audience.

I'm trying to decide what to start reading next. It's about time for my annual trip through Tolkien's works. I start with The Hobbit and go through The Lord of the Rings. This year, I think I'll throw in The Silmarillion, which I've read, but not right before the others.

Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.' - Isaac Asimov

I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "... I drank what?"